In the United States, as President Barack Obama and his family celebrated the birthday of civil rights activist and champion of social justice Martin Luther King, Jr. at his new memorial in Washington D.C., thousands of protesters associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement planned demonstrations in cities across the country. The Occupy movement, which came to the world’s attention in September 2011 when protesters took over Zuccotti Park near Wall Street, has drawn some parallels to the civil rights movements of the 1960s led by MLK. What most of the sympathizers of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) and its different chapters don’t know is that Francisco Guerrero, a Costa Rican blogger and film producer, was instrumental in getting the movement started.

The history of the OWS movement dates back to July of last year, and it has been well-documented by news media agency Reuters. It all began with the fundamental idea posited by Canadian watchdog organization and anti-consumerist organization AdBusters and its seminal blog post and now-famous Twitter hashtag #OccupyWallStreet. On that historic post, AdBusters laid out the foundation of OWS by taking inspiration from the events of Tahrir Square in Egypt, where protesters camped out until a revolution toppled the despotic regime of Hosni Mubarak, and from the acampadas in Spain -citizens who were fed up with what they see as a failure of an inept government to protect them in times of economic crisis.

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American troops stepped up the pace of their withdrawal from Iraq over the weekend, turning over garrisons and combat positions to Iraqi security forces. Armored vehicles lined up in long columns traveling towards Kuwait for shipment to other American bases around the world. Soldiers’ families rejoiced in the United States, while some Iraqis celebrated the withdrawal by burning American flags.

The Iraq War had a polarizing effect in Costa Rica. When the country ended up in the “Coalition of the Willing” list of nations that supported the controversial invasion by Allied forces in 2003, many Ticos protested President Abel Pacheco’s judgment call by staging a peaceful demonstration in Plaza de la Democracia and writing a strong letter of reproach to the Executive. Supporting a contentious invasion was not in line with the general pacifist sentiment felt by the citizenry. The country was later removed from the list after its inclusion was deemed unconstitutional.

For two Tico families, the Iraq War hit very close to home. Costa Rica’s constitutional decree against organizing an army make it unusual for Ticos to become involved in armed conflict, but the twists, turns and constraints of modern life can place anyone in harm’s way, even the traditionally peaceful Ticos.

The stories below call to mind the words of former U.S. President and Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower: “I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”

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Various labor unions and social advocacy groups have resolved to voice their discontent against proposed financial reforms with a labor strike and public demonstration. The display of solidarity will take place just days before a large number of Ticos will leave for the beaches and the countryside.

The decision was formulated a week ago during an impromptu summit of labor union leaders. Beatriz Ferreto, president of the Secondary Education Teachers Association, explained to the Diario Extra newspaper that at least 20 groups representing all the national universities, public health associations and agricultural worker groups will participate in the massive demonstration. Thousands are expected to join in the public display of dissent against the proposed fiscal plan that aims to impose new taxes and increase the rates of some existing ones.

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